Luke was still five meters away when Welk pulled his twisted body free of the cell. His black armor was smeared in yellow pulp, and the lipless slash of his mouth hung agape with what was either fear or disdain.
Luke reactivated his lightsabers.
The soft whiffle of wings sounded to his right, and the air suddenly grew as thick and heavy as water. He twisted toward the noise, but his body seemed to move in slow motion, and by the time he turned there was nothing to see but darkness.
A crimson blade ignited a few meters ahead, and Luke knew Welk was coming. He brought his lightsabers around in a cross guard and looked back toward the attack. Again, his actions seemed to take forever, and the glow of the crimson blade drew within striking range long before Luke was ready to defend.
The fight was about to get interesting.
Luke extended himself toward the glow, slamming his Force presence into Welk. It was like trying to push Qoribu out of orbit. Welk continued to come, bringing his blade around in a brazen full-reach attack.
Luke didn’t even try to block. The Dark Jedi was strong-even stronger than Saba had said-but great strength was like great power. It seduced those who had it, lulled them into relying on might when other tools were better. Luke reversed tactics, pulling his attacker toward him. Welk tumbled forward, his hoarse voice croaking in alarm, his scarred face dropping toward Alema’s silver blade.
The low throb of wings sounded overhead, and the hilt of Alema’s lightsaber grew painfully cold as the thing causing the sound-he wondered if that could be Lomi Plo-drained the energy from its power cell. The blade sputtered and died.
Welk slammed into Luke headfirst, sending them both
into
an uncontrolled tumble. The Dark Jedi’s crimson blade flashed past Luke’s leg and burned a gouge into his shin, sending a fiery shaft of pain straight to the heart.
Luke righted himself, but he was still moving in slow motion, and Welk was already coming again. Luke reached out in the Force, bringing his thumb and forefinger together.
Welk’s lipless mouth fell open. Dire gurgling sounds began to rise from his throat-and then Luke remembered Alema’s sacrifice of the membrosia giver. Had he grown that casual about killing? So accustomed to the power he wielded that he would use it to kill when he had other means to defend himself?
Luke opened his fingers and released Welk.
The Dark Jedi’s breathing returned to normal, but he stopped where he was, rubbing his throat and eyeing Luke in suspicion.
Skywalker! Mara’s voice was a screech in the Force, but when she spoke aloud, it sounded weak and pained. “Are you crazy? Finish him!”
“Not that way,” Luke answered. “The Force may have no light or dark side, but we do. We must choose.”
“Right now?” Mara asked.
“Especially now.”
Luke caught Welk’s gaze, then-still moving slowly-raised his remaining lightsaber to high guard.
“Are you ready, son?”
“We are not your son!”
The Dark Jedi sailed forward, bristling at the condescension, striking at the flank Luke had left open.
Moving even slower than was necessary, Luke pulled his guard around and rotated away. A soft flutter sounded behind him. The hilt of his lightsaber grew cold-as Alema’s had a moment earlier-and the blade died.
By then Luke had already released the weapon and accelerated to his best speed, slipping forward even as he twisted away from the attack. The sudden speed change caught Welk by surprise. Luke trapped the Dark Jedi’s wrist in an X-block and continued to pivot smoothly away, forcing those hands into a tight circle and driving the lightsaber back up into Welk’s stomach in one not-so-fast motion.
Welk let out a bloodcurdling scream and tried to deactivate the lightsaber, but Luke had his hand over the switch and now he was the strong one. He wrenched the handle free and ripped the blade out the Dark Jedi’s side, then turned to face the attack he felt certain would be coming from Lomi Plo-and went spinning out of control when the air suddenly grew light and thin again and he could once more move at normal speed.
Luke saw the wall flashing past, coming up fast, barbed mandibles protruding where he was about to hit. He deactivated the lightsaber, then reached out in the Force and jerked the larva from its cell, slammed into it in midair, and tumbled off in a new direction.
This time he managed to stop himself before he hit another wall. He reignited Welk’s lightsaber and spun around with the crimson blade swinging-then felt a jolt of alarm and sensed Mara approaching out of the darkness.
“Hey, it’s me!” Mara used the Force to push the weapon down. “Don’t you recognize your own wife anymore?”
Luke deactivated the blade. “Sorry.”